Session starting
Money breeds mistrust - "I don't trust Wikipedia because it's all advertising"
There's a huge trust gap between doctors and parents
"the APPEARANCE of conflict renders the results questionalble"
context -> doubt -> deadly meme
Doctors can receive payments of up to $250K from drug companies and still be reviewing their drugs for approval.
Since 2005 americans cannot get rid of credit card debt via bankruptcy
in 01 Hilary Clinton blocked a bill that would protect middle class people from credit card debt
in 03 she voted for the same bill twice. in the interim she received 140k from finance companies
why did she change her mind? the money makes it LOOK like she flipped due to pressure
money poisons trust
It's not that money = evil, but money poisons trust, poisons the possibility of trust.
clinton - will ppl believe she gave the right answer for the right reason... is her integrity still intact. all a recognition that money can poison trust, guided not by reason but improper reason...
depencies weaken trust
People who contribute get the ear of the politician. They have access. Access is power.
even gifts as small as pens/mugs change prescribing behaviours. the result of an exchange can be influenced
Talking about Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act. Does it advance the public good? Economists opined that it could not. Congress passed it nonetheless. Just got it wrong. Bad policy. Why?
Sugar industry got Senate to threaten WHO to back down from <10% of daily caloric intake should come from sugar. Sugar industry got a a 25% standard implemented through FDA. Easy policy question, we got it wrong.
The sugar lobby (sugar lobby?!?) forced the US Gov't to withdraw from a world health org policy that stated a max of 10% of daily caloric intake should come from added sugar.
Congress keeps getting the easy policy issues wrong. Finance, nutrition, global warming, etc. Why? Are they idiots, or are they guided by a dependency that drives them to insane action?
1785, 2 years before the constitution was drafted there was widespread corruption in the gov't
bribery wasn't a crime in congress until 1853
Jack Abramoff, Duke Cunningham, Stevens - same as it ever was??
There is corruption today, but it's not the same as it was.
It's corruption of a different kind. These are not evil people. These are good souls that act in a way to corrupt the system.
maplight.org money and politics
money buys results in congress. Is it true?
constant attention to money for the purpose of being re-elected. Spend between 30 and 70% of total time working on being re-elected
Corruption fed by dependency on money to secure tenure in Congress, for the purpose of being re-elected. Spending 30-70% of time raising money for re-election. Develop a sense for what they can do to raise money. Are addicts. Very strong metaphor!
Members of congress become addicts. How can they get their next fix? Model of addict/pusher is very appropriate.
productivity of lobbyists (pushers) is increasing
Who are the Pushers? The lobbying industry. Not against lobbyists per se, rather the economy of influence around them. The price/hour for a lobbyist and the number hours exploding, the spending clearly has high returns.
The business model of DC is that people work in government for 7.5 years and then spin out to K street. Big payoffs in the lobbying industry. Noone in the system has an interest to work against this system. They are dependent upon it. It is the career plan.
Congressmembers and aides consistently go into the lobbying business. They need lobbyists to exists so that they can grab the golden ring after their service
"How are we going to raise money from the telecoms if we deregulate it?"
This is called extortion: government regulating as a way to get leverage for getting money back through lobbying.
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